


The truth

by Attack_on_mgl



Series: Various versions of the inevitable [1]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-10-12 17:10:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17471573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Attack_on_mgl/pseuds/Attack_on_mgl
Summary: "Aaron, if there's something you need to tell me, then tell me." Marlon swore he could see his eyes glaze over. "Look, I know about Jason and I know about the homophobia, but there's clearly more too it."Aaron breathed out slowly. "They found out about… about Gordon."Marlon winced.*Aaron feels as though Marlon deserves to know what really went on during his time in prison.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The idea that only Robert has heard about the true details of Aaron's prison bullying keeps popping up in my head, quickly followed by the reminder that the Billy/Aaron storyline might expose some of it.
> 
> Bare in mind, Jessie and Ellis most likely have no idea about Aaron's childhood abuse, so the fact that they will probably be told at some point is inevitable. 
> 
> I might make a series of different ficlets/oneshots revolving around different people finding out about what Aaron went through, so comment if you'd be interested :)

"Listen, if you're here to fight—"

"I'm not." Aaron spoke firmly, feeling Paddy fidget next to him. "I came to explain myself."

Marlon relaxed slightly. "Oh… right."

"W-We think that it would be good to clear everything up." Paddy offered a small smile, one his friend hastily returned. "Without violence."

Aaron huffed out a bitter laugh at that, but otherwise stayed silent.

 

* * *

 

Marlon watched as Aaron took a seat opposite him, closest to the door, and Paddy choosing to leant against the sink, eyes not moving from the brunet.

"Jessie won't be back for a couple hours, and I'm not sure about Ellis and Billy." He explained. "April's at school."

Aaron nodded slowly.

Silence.

"…You do realise that Billy's changed." Marlon began, slightly annoyed that he was the one starting the conversation. Aaron didn't comment. "Honestly, Aaron, he's really sorry about what he put you through."

"Bullshit–"

" _Aaron_." Paddy hissed, his dad-mode kicking in.

"What? It's true."

"I thought you came here to apologize–"

" _No_ , Marlon, I came here to tell you how stupid you're being." The brunet suddenly snapped, fist clenching on the table angrily. "Jessie is brainwashing you."

"Don't bring her into this–"

"How can I not? Billy is literally her son!"

"Aaron, calm down." Paddy, again. He was stern, and surprisingly Aaron seemed to listen. "Just tell him."

The younger man chewed his lip, now oddly quiet. "…I…" A look of nervousness flashed across his eyes. "I need to be somewhere—" He went to push himself off the chair but Marlon grabbed his arm, a little too harshly, and forced him back down.

"Aaron, if there's something you need to tell me, then tell me." Marlon swore he could see his eyes glaze over. "Look, I know about Jason and I know about the homophobia, but there's clearly more too it."

Aaron breathed out slowly. "They found out about… about _Gordon_."

Marlon winced. It had clearly been a long time since he'd spoken openly about his prison torture, so it was understandable if it was hard for him to get out.

"They… They got me in his old cell… Throwin' all sorts of insults at me." His voice had lowered considerably, almost to a nervous whisper of sorts. "Jason got me over the… uh… over the b-bed, started going off about what Gordon did to me… I couldn't breathe properly, I was terrified… I thought they were gonna rape me—"

"Tell me they didn't." Paddy interjected sternly, apparently not knowing this.

"No." Aaron sniffed. "They showed my where he hung himself… and then beat me up and left me on the floor."

The two men both inhaled sharply, Aaron still refusing to look either of them in the eye. He'd only ever told Robert the gory details of his prison bullying, so telling Marlon and Paddy was quite unnerving.

Although, they did have a right to know; Marlon more than anyone.

"…Aaron, I am _so_ sorry."

"It's not your fault." He insisted quietly, suddenly having a great interest in his sleeves as he pulled them over his hands anxiously.

"No… not for that…" Marlon miserably corrected. "About me, and the whole situation."

"I should've told you sooner…" Aaron grimaced and finally looked up, regretting it instantly. Paddy was staring right at him, his expression unreadable, and arms folded over his chest. Marlon's eyes were bloodshot and wet, his skin paler than usual. "I-I shouldn't've put you all through this…" His lip was trembling as his felt himself start to shake, words coming out in tearful whispers.

It was now that Paddy pushed himself off the counter and walked quickly over to he brunet, crouching down and tugging him into a secure hug. "Hey, hey… don't blame yourself." He shot Marlon a glance as his hand stroked through Aaron's hair, the younger man only gripping tighter onto him as he cried quietly.

Marlon sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He hadn't expected to get so emotional, but that was what guilt did to some people.

He knew Billy had played a part in Aaron's bullying… but he hadn't expected it to be _this_ bad. Aaron wasn't really even talking about Billy's role, more so Jason, but that was irrelevant.

"H-He just brings it all b-back–" Aaron's voice was muffled against Paddy's shoulder, tears soaking through the bald man's shirt. "A-And then I thi— I think about _d-dad_ –"

Jesus.

That was like a harsh punch in the gut.

"Gordon's dead–" Paddy tried, wincing when Aaron pulled away from him.

The brunet's flushed face was ridden with distress, and it broke both Paddy and Marlon's hearts.

"I-I know he's dead." He whimpered. "That… that doesn't stop that I can still _feel_ him."

The vet's eyes widened slightly. He didn't know what to say. "…And this is because of Billy?" The conversation was going off topic – to a subject Paddy didn't want to even think about — and he needed to divert.

Aaron chanced a weary glance over at Marlon, a few hot tears spilling down his cheeks, but that was a good enough confirmation for Paddy.

Marlon breathed out a heavy sigh and rubbed his face tiredly. "I'll have a word with Jessie—"

"…What are you gonna say?" Aaron suddenly questioned, breathless and somewhat panicked.

Oh.

Jessie didn't know about Gordon. He'd had no reason to tell her.

_"So where's Aaron's dad, then? Did he get ran out for breaking 'Dingle code' or something?" She joked, laughing fondly as she nudged him._

_"Something like that. It doesn't matter."_

"Here." He couldn't remember getting up, nor pouring the glass of water, but now he leant over the small table to place the drink in front of Aaron. He watched as Paddy reluctantly let him go, whispering an assuring "It's okay, I'm not going anywhere" as he gestured to the glass of water.

Aaron eyed it hesitantly.

Marlon failed to ignore how violently the glass shook when the brunet held it tightly with both hands, the water splashing up the sides and droplets threatening to spill over.

He guessed that Aaron was in the process of having some kind of panic attack; he'd overheard Robert giving Chas and Paddy a lecture on what calms Aaron down the best, but unfortunately hadn't taken much interest.

Fortunately, though, Paddy was here.

Doing everything he could to keep Aaron out of his nightmarish headspace.

Marlon grimaced. He felt so guilty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you wanted at Part 2, so I hope this is alright, as I hadn't really planned on doing one :)

_"Marlon? Marlon, are you in?"_

The three of the flinched at the sudden volume of Jessie's voice, Paddy scooting his chair impossibly closer to Aaron's as he rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

Marlon swallowed. "Uh, yeah, I am." He called back, eyes not leaving Aaron or a second.

"Billy and I have come back for some food." She explained, the familiar sound of shoes being discarded at the door, and that same door locking, filling the air. "Is that alright?"

Aaron's previously bowed head shot up at the news, eyes wide as he stared at the two men helplessly. Paddy shifted uncomfortably in his chair, lower lip caught between his teeth as he breathed out slowly.

"Um, well–"

" _Oh._ "

Aaron turned away to look down at the table once again, his entire body tensing as the woman just stared at him.

"What's going on in here, then?" She questioned with a raised brow, shuffling further in the kitchen so Billy could enter.

"We've just had a chat, that's all." Marlon explained. "About… About the situation."

"Oh really?" She didn't sound curious. She sounded sarcastic and smug and Aaron just wanted to punch her. "Well, as long as you're not here to cause _trouble_ –"

"Why d'you always assume the worst of him?" Paddy spoke up, a lot more forward than anyone was really expecting.

Marlon sunk in on himself as Jessie let out a gasp, a stupid smile tugging at her lips. "Excuse me?"

"Mum, just leave it–" Billy tried.

"No, okay?" Jessie glared at Paddy, shaking her head. "What gives you the right to talk to me like that?"

"A-And what gives you the right to parade around with him like-like he's a flaming angel?" Paddy shot back, sticking out his arm to gesture at Billy for emphasis.

"I can _go_ –"

"No." Jessie snapped. "This is my house–"

"It's Marlon's…"

"What was that?"

Aaron breathed out as he looked her in the eyes, his own eyes still sore and bloodshot. "It's _Marlon's_ house." He stated bluntly.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it soon after. Her eyes gave Aaron more than a once over, brows narrowing. "…Have you been _crying?_ "

The brunet grimaced, falling silent.

"I… uh… I'll just grab something from the café… cheers, anyway, mum." Billy's voice was low, awkward, and Aaron was grateful to hear him pulling on his shoes and walking out the front door moments later.

He could still feel Jessie's eyes burning into his skull.

"Maybe you should go, too–"

"No, Paddy, I'm sorry, but I want to know what's caused all…" She gestured to Aaron. "All this!"

Marlon let out a heavy sigh. "You need to sit down. There's… There's a bit of context–"

"Context?" Paddy laughed bitterly, a sound the was rare to all of them. "Marlon, she doesn't deserve to know."

"It'll help her understand."

"That doesn't mean she has to know it, though." The bald man retorted firmly. "Next thing you know, we'll be telling Ellis, and that'll give them boys more reason to hate each other–"

"Right, can someone just explain to me what's going on, please." Jessie interjected, more desperate than impatient.

Marlon frowned as he exchanged a glance with Paddy. "It's not your decision." He reminded, eyes shifting onto Aaron. "…You don't have to tell her if you don't want to–"

"You _can't_ tell Ellis." Aaron stated firmly, finally meeting Jessie's gaze. "I'm not having him know about any of it."

The woman paused, brows furrowing. "I thought you didn't mind Ellis–"

"Exactly." He grimaced, sitting up more comfortably in his chair. "…It's… It's heavy stuff. Stuff I don't want him knowing about me, my past."

She eyed him for a moment. "…Okay."

Paddy rested his hand on Aaron's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "D'you want us to go–"

" _No_." The brunet replied immediately, looking down in embarrassment at how quickly he'd responded. "…No thanks."

Once again, Paddy and Marlon looked at each other, offering small nods of assurance.

"Is it really that bad…?" Jessie looked between them all. She sounded genuinely curious, almost concerned. "What… What did you two do then?"

Aaron took in a steadying breath. "…During prison, I was targeted for, uh, for being _gay_." He waited a moment, watching as her expression softened. "Billy wasn't in the main gang… I think he just got involved because he didn't want to be targeted as well."

"So you two where both–"

"No." His voice was sharp. "He added to the torture. Not physically, but mentally." He glared at her, hoping she'd get the message, but to no avail.

Jessie chewed her lip, sighing. "Aaron, you can't seriously be blaming Billy for what happened in prison–"

"Hey." Paddy interjected harshly. "Let him finish." He ignored the glare Marlon shot him.

"…I'm blaming him for brining back all the memories. All the violence and the slurs and the pain that was thrown at me–"

"He didn't _hurt_ you–"

"It all just comes back to my dad!" Aaron suddenly snapped, fist slamming down on the table as his vision blurred with hot, fresh tears. Jessie stared at him, stunned, lips parted but unable to speak.

She blinked, giving him an anxious once over. "…What's your dad got to do with any of this…?" She turned to Marlon, as confused as ever, before looking back at him.

"Gordon killed himself in prison." Marlon spoke, sucking in a deep breath as Aaron wiped his eyes harshly with his sleeve.

The woman shook her head sadly. "Oh God, Aaron, I didn't know–"

"I'm glad he's dead." He didn't bother to make eye contact with her. "I don't know what I would've done if I was suck in there with h-him."

She glanced worriedly over at Paddy, and then her husband again. "Did he do something bad–"

"He hurt me, whe-when I was a kid." His voice was just above a whisper, threatening to break any second. "H-He was abusive. Sex…Sexually." He heard her gasp, and Marlon mutter something, but that was it aside from the painful silence.

Paddy gave his shoulder another squeeze, this time more firm, a silent "well done."

"… I… I'm so sorry."

"It's not like you'd've known" He insisted quietly.

"But now she does." Marlon's tone was somewhat optimistic. "Now she knows why Billy makes you… on edge."

Aaron nodded, still not looking up, until he flinched as a hand reached out to squeeze his knee comfortingly. He stared at Jessie with wide, teary eyes, kicking himself for how pathetic he probably looked. She had teary eyes as well, he noticed.

"I really hope that we can work this all out somehow." A hint of a smile tugged at her lips somewhat sadly. "A-And we'll be sure to have a chat with Billy, if you think it'll help?"

"…He knows why I don't… I don't like him." Aaron explained tiredly. "But you could try, maybe…"

Her sad smile brightened, Marlon rubbing her arm affectionately. "Y-Yeah. We will."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and I love reading them! Thanks :)


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